Fantasy Baseball Pitch & Ditch – August 29

Yesterday’s Results:
Bud Norris – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K
It was a solid start for Norris, though he got no run support (is that really surprise). Win or not, Norris posted a solid game for anyone who took the risk on him.

Today’s Pick:
Joe Kelly – St. Louis Cardinals – at Pittsburgh
Kelly did nothing to originally warrant his demotion to the bullpen, it was simply a numbers game. While he may not last the rest of the season there (there are rumors of a Shelby Miller callup in Septemver), Kelly becomes a potential option while he has the opportunity.

Overall this season he is sporting a 3.26 ERA. His WHIP is not ideal, at 1.42, but he also has a below average .321 BABIP including a .407 mark in August (despite a 53.2% groundball rate). In other words, there is a lot of room for improvement.

Not known as a big strikeout pitcher (7.46 K/9 in the minor leagues), entering play on Tuesday he Pirates were tied with the Blue Jays for the most strikeouts in August with 218. He has some ability, coupled with the matchup, and could potentially generate 7-8 K.

Throw in a good offense behind him, meaning a good chance at a W, and Kelly makes sense to roll with for this start.